马尔代夫海滩上覆盖着发光的浮游植物

在马尔代夫群岛度假时，台湾摄影师Will Ho偶然发现了一片神奇的海滩，上面覆盖着数百万发光的浮游植物。这些微小的生物发出类似萤火虫的光，当受到压力时，比如海浪撞击或其他情况下，它们往往会发光。虽然这一现象及其化学机制早已为人所知，但生物学家直到最近才开始理解其背后的原因。

While vacationing on the Maldives Islands, Taiwanese photographer Will Ho stumbled onto an incredible stretch of beach covered in millions of bioluminescent phytoplankton. These tiny organisms glow similarly to fireflies and tend to emit light when stressed, such as when waves crash or when they are otherwise agitated. While the phenomenon and its chemical mechanisms have been known for some time, biologists have only recently began to understand the reasons behind it. You can see a few more of Ho’s photographs over on Flickr.